Breaking down the CIAC football semifinals

Updated 10:00 pm, Thursday, November 30, 2017

West Haven’s Kyle Godfrey breaks off a run during the Westies win over Shelton in the Class LL state football quarterfinals.

West Haven’s Kyle Godfrey breaks off a run during the Westies win over Shelton in the Class LL state football quarterfinals.

Photo: Krista Benson /

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St Joe's Jared Mallozzi (3) looks to get past Tech's Moazzum Choudhy (1) in the Class S football playoff game between O'Brien Tech and St.Joseph high schools on Tuesday night, November 28, 2017, at Trumbull High School, in Trumbull, Conn. less

St Joe's Jared Mallozzi (3) looks to get past Tech's Moazzum Choudhy (1) in the Class S football playoff game between O'Brien Tech and St.Joseph high schools on Tuesday night, November 28, 2017, at Trumbull ... more

Photo: H John Voorhees III, Hearst Connecticut Media

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Greenwich quarterback Gavin Muir passes during the high school football game between Fairfield Ludlowe High School and Greenwich High School at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, Conn., Friday night, Oct. 27, 2017.

Greenwich quarterback Gavin Muir passes during the high school football game between Fairfield Ludlowe High School and Greenwich High School at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, Conn., Friday night, Oct. 27, 2017.

Jack Roberge (34) of the Masuk Panthers runs for a touchdown during a game against the Bunnell Bulldogs on October 28, 2016 at Bunnell High School in Stratford, Connecticut.

Jack Roberge (34) of the Masuk Panthers runs for a touchdown during a game against the Bunnell Bulldogs on October 28, 2016 at Bunnell High School in Stratford, Connecticut.

Photo: Gregory Vasil / For Hearst Connecticut Media

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Darien Jack Joyce looks for the deep pass against Brien McMahon in a FCIAC football game on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 in Darien, Connecticut. Darien defeated Brien McMahon 47-0 in their first game at the school under the lights. less

Darien Jack Joyce looks for the deep pass against Brien McMahon in a FCIAC football game on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 in Darien, Connecticut. Darien defeated Brien McMahon 47-0 in their first game at the school ... more

Photo: Matthew Brown, Hearst Connecticut Media

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Joel Barlow QB Trevor Furrer tries to advance with the ball as Sheehan's Jordan Davis makes the tackle from behind during Class M football action in Wallingford, Conn. on Tuesday Nov. 28, 2017.

Joel Barlow QB Trevor Furrer tries to advance with the ball as Sheehan's Jordan Davis makes the tackle from behind during Class M football action in Wallingford, Conn. on Tuesday Nov. 28, 2017.

Photo: Christian Abraham, Hearst Connecticut Media

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Breaking down the CIAC football semifinals

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One playoff round is down, two remain.

The CIAC football semifinals will take place Sunday at the sites of the higher seeds at 12:30 p.m. The finals — Classes LL, L, M and S — will be held one week from Saturday at sites and times to be announced.

Before the next round of games kick off, let’s take a look at what we’ve learned so far and what we can expect to see moving forward.

WHAT WE LEARNED

1 THE RAMS ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE: Put yourself in Middletown’s shoes for a moment. You’re 10-0 and have climbed to No. 3 in the state poll after completing your first unbeaten regular season since 1985. You’ve just beaten Windsor to lock up the top seed in the upcoming Class L playoffs. If everything goes as planned, you’ll see Windsor again in a couple weeks. First, though, you’ll have to get past that pesky No. 8 seed, New Canaan. Wait? What? That’s right, your reward is a matchup with the four-time defending champions. That didn’t end well for the Blue Dragons, who were beaten 24-9 at home. It’s not a stretch to say the Rams are now the team-to-beat in Class L.

2 MORE PLAYOFF HEARTACHE: Since 2014, Shelton is 38-3 during the regular season, but only 4-4 in the playoffs. Twice during that span have the Gaels lost in the state finals. This season, they didn’t make it nearly that far, losing 46-7 at home to West Haven in the Class LL quarterfinals. The Gaels should be a preseason favorite next year with quarterback Jake Roberts, running back Jack Carr and wide receivers Brian Berritto and Paul Ferrigno, among others, returning. With that said, you can bet the pressure to win it all will be ratcheted up a few notches.

3 WAITING FOR ANSWERS: Darien has been making a lot of noise on the field lately, but its silence off of it is deafening. The Blue Wave’s quest for a third straight title has been clouded with scrutiny following last week’s arrests of quarterback Jack Joyce, wide/receiver/cornerback Brian Minicus and another teen in connection to an alleged assault. While Minicus remained suspended for the Blue Wave’s 30-10 Class LL quarterfinal win over East Hartford, Joyce returned to the field to throw for two touchdowns and run for another. The cloud of controversy hovering over the team darkened with the release of court documents detailing the police investigation on Thursday.

4NOT EVEN CLOSE: Ansonia still owns Seymour — along with every other team in the NVL, for that matter. The Chargers extended their winning streak to 13 over the Wildcats with a 51-16 rout in the Class S quarterfinals. Markell Dobbs ran for 206 yards and three touchdowns.

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MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF: Quarterback Trevor Furrer delivered a performance for the ages in Barlow’s 47-34 victory over Sheehan in the Class M quarterfinals, rushing for a whopping 330 yards and three touchdowns. The Falcons will likely look to Furrer again to help them get to their first state final.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

1 GRAND GREENWICH: Playing its first game as the No. 1 team in the state since 2006, Greenwich did not disappoint. The Cardinals knocked off Fairfield Prep, 27-6. Of course, with South Windsor up next, the focus turns to whether the Cardinals can reach the finals for the first time since 2007.

2 WILL THE WESTIES FINISH THE JOB? Few teams have consistently had as much top-level talent on offense as West Haven, which makes the Blue Devils’ recent postseason failures all the more maddening. However, the Blue Devils, thanks to their stable of running backs — from Kyle Godfrey to Zach Conlan to Chris Chance — seem poised to change the conversation surrounding them. The Blue Devils snapped a four-game postseason losing streak with their rout of Shelton and now sit just one win away from their first finals appearance since 2003. Can they get there?

3 IS ST. JOSEPH TRAVELING A ROCKY ROAD? Ansonia and St. Joseph are such heavy favorites to make it to the finals that the Class S playoffs might as well be named after them. But, if there’s one team capable of shaking up the small-schools division, it’s Rocky Hill. Running back Joe Catania and the Terriers (11-0) certainly won’t be intimidated by the Cadets’ undersized front. That doesn’t mean they’ll win, though.

POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE-MAKERS

1 Jack Roberge, Masuk, RB: For the Panthers to have a chance at denying New Canaan’s bid for a five-peat, they’ll likely need a big performance from their junior tailback, who rushed for 126 yards and scored two touchdowns in their 43-7 takedown of Fitch.

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Gavin Muir, Greenwich, QB: The junior returned from an ankle injury to throw for 286 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Class LL quarterfinals. The Cardinals will look for more of the same against South Windsor.

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Jared Mallozzi, St. Joseph, WR: Despite the steady stream of double teams that opponents have thrown his way, the senior’s still managed to catch 62 passes for 856 yards and 15 scores.

NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

382
Rushing yards for Killingly senior Spencer Lockwood in a 57-21 rout of Law in the Class M quarterfinals. Lockwood has the eighth-most rushing yards (2,761) in a single season in state history with potentially two games left. He needs 193 yards on Sunday to move past former Weaver star John Weaver.

48-0
That was the score of last year’s Class S quarterfinal between Ansonia and Stafford/East Windsor/Somers, which the Chargers used as a springboard to their record 20th CIAC title. Sunday’s rematch at Jarvis Stadium will be for a trip to the Class S final.

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The SCC had seven teams make the playoffs, but only two (West Haven and Daniel Hand) advanced past the first round. Of course, we’d be remiss if we did not mention that both of those wins knocked out fellow SCC schools. The FCIAC and CCC each lead the pack with four teams remaining.